Remember yesterday when I shared some of my fears? And remember today when they came true? I guess I should have knocked on wood.
Precursor: She seems to be alright.
Vera was sitting on the floor for just a few minutes this morning. She was merrily playing with a toy while I finished doing Maya's hair. I looked up to see there was a kleenex near her and zoomed on over to do a finger sweep of her toothless, little mouth because choking on stray kleenex is her favourite. Little did I know what a treat a piece of used kleenex would have been compared to what I found: A huge, black ant! GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
So while I was combing Maya's hair out of her face, my 9 month-old baby was hunting the local wildlife for a snack. OMGosh, I was horrified. And started to cry. Because that's what I do. I calmed down a little and left her in the care of a capable adult, who shall not be named because that person already feels guilty enough, and I went off to bathe and dress Teja. Then I heard a sickening thud from the other room, followed by a pause and then my baby's screaming. She had, quick as can be, army crawled over the edge of the bed and onto the stone floor. She cried for a long time. And I did too. And I wondered how a billion people survived/are surviving infancy in India. Which at that point in time seemed bloody-well impossible.
We were getting ready to meet with family for lunch when it seemed Teja could no longer stand the itchiness of her mosquito bites, poor little thing, as if I'm not buried under enough maternal guilt already. So I did something parents don't usually do: gave her children's allergy medication to ease the discomfort of an allergic reaction, not to knock her out. It was her first time having it and I was a bit concerned she would start dozing off while visiting with these relatives. Simple fool that I am.
Instead, she became enraged. She was like a mean little drunk for most of the afternoon, screaming and brawling with her siblings. I could not console her, but Raja managed to calm her down for a few minutes while holding her. I saw her eyes start to droop. Relief washed over me, thinking she was going to sleep off this benadryl-bender. Simple fool that I am. Those eyes popped back open and she was more belligerent than ever before, shocking the relatives and embarrassing her parents. Unless she is verging on anaphylactic shock, that child is not getting allergy medicine again.
Other than Teja being a rage-aholic, we enjoyed visiting with Raja's mom's side of the family. I wasn't even all that surprised or bothered when I was munching away on something similar to peanut brittle and chomped down on a smallish triangular stone. But, of course. Why wouldn't my sweet/salty snack have rocks in it?
This evening I ate some soup after scooping out a black fleck that turned out to be a mosquito. Yes, indeed. Too much salt too. Sheesh.
That is how this country feels about me. The first week we were here, I was bending over to buckle Vera into her stroller when a huge bird in the coconut tree beside me defecated onto my head. It smelled so bad, I was gagging as I tried to clean it out of my hair. Raja wasn't home so I had to explain it to my mother-in-law in sign language, both rudimentary and vulgar, with bonus CAW-CAW! and PPPPLARRRRRRRRRRTTT!!!!! noises. I had no dignity left at this point. To me it was like that enormous crow-like pterodactyl represented India. And India shat on my head. (Not a swear when used in past tense.)
I'm rolling with the punches but they're starting to hit below the belt, folks.
Good Things: This weather is heavenly and I love that we're getting to visit family here. And I love how they keep complimenting me on my weight loss even though it embarrasses me too. I wish I knew Telugu for "Actually, that was just a fat suit I was wearing for a social experiment. Yeah, that's it."
I'm trying to think of other good things but I must be getting sleepy because nothing comes to mind.
And I am so, so, so grateful that we are healthy.
And this time, I'm knocking on wood!
Precursor: She seems to be alright.
Vera was sitting on the floor for just a few minutes this morning. She was merrily playing with a toy while I finished doing Maya's hair. I looked up to see there was a kleenex near her and zoomed on over to do a finger sweep of her toothless, little mouth because choking on stray kleenex is her favourite. Little did I know what a treat a piece of used kleenex would have been compared to what I found: A huge, black ant! GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
So while I was combing Maya's hair out of her face, my 9 month-old baby was hunting the local wildlife for a snack. OMGosh, I was horrified. And started to cry. Because that's what I do. I calmed down a little and left her in the care of a capable adult, who shall not be named because that person already feels guilty enough, and I went off to bathe and dress Teja. Then I heard a sickening thud from the other room, followed by a pause and then my baby's screaming. She had, quick as can be, army crawled over the edge of the bed and onto the stone floor. She cried for a long time. And I did too. And I wondered how a billion people survived/are surviving infancy in India. Which at that point in time seemed bloody-well impossible.
We were getting ready to meet with family for lunch when it seemed Teja could no longer stand the itchiness of her mosquito bites, poor little thing, as if I'm not buried under enough maternal guilt already. So I did something parents don't usually do: gave her children's allergy medication to ease the discomfort of an allergic reaction, not to knock her out. It was her first time having it and I was a bit concerned she would start dozing off while visiting with these relatives. Simple fool that I am.
Instead, she became enraged. She was like a mean little drunk for most of the afternoon, screaming and brawling with her siblings. I could not console her, but Raja managed to calm her down for a few minutes while holding her. I saw her eyes start to droop. Relief washed over me, thinking she was going to sleep off this benadryl-bender. Simple fool that I am. Those eyes popped back open and she was more belligerent than ever before, shocking the relatives and embarrassing her parents. Unless she is verging on anaphylactic shock, that child is not getting allergy medicine again.
Other than Teja being a rage-aholic, we enjoyed visiting with Raja's mom's side of the family. I wasn't even all that surprised or bothered when I was munching away on something similar to peanut brittle and chomped down on a smallish triangular stone. But, of course. Why wouldn't my sweet/salty snack have rocks in it?
This evening I ate some soup after scooping out a black fleck that turned out to be a mosquito. Yes, indeed. Too much salt too. Sheesh.
That is how this country feels about me. The first week we were here, I was bending over to buckle Vera into her stroller when a huge bird in the coconut tree beside me defecated onto my head. It smelled so bad, I was gagging as I tried to clean it out of my hair. Raja wasn't home so I had to explain it to my mother-in-law in sign language, both rudimentary and vulgar, with bonus CAW-CAW! and PPPPLARRRRRRRRRRTTT!!!!! noises. I had no dignity left at this point. To me it was like that enormous crow-like pterodactyl represented India. And India shat on my head. (Not a swear when used in past tense.)
I'm rolling with the punches but they're starting to hit below the belt, folks.
Good Things: This weather is heavenly and I love that we're getting to visit family here. And I love how they keep complimenting me on my weight loss even though it embarrasses me too. I wish I knew Telugu for "Actually, that was just a fat suit I was wearing for a social experiment. Yeah, that's it."
I'm trying to think of other good things but I must be getting sleepy because nothing comes to mind.
And I am so, so, so grateful that we are healthy.
And this time, I'm knocking on wood!
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